Dismantling of Underground Steroid Production in Ukraine
The National Police of Ukraine has successfully conducted the largest operation in the country to dismantle the illegal production of anabolic steroids, which were passed off as imported products for athletes.
The perpetrators were manufacturing mixtures for muscle mass increase, body cutting, and weight loss in a regular apartment, disregarding basic safety and hygiene standards. The products contained active substances typically used for treating severe diseases, including cancer.
These components have clear contraindications, yet the criminals sold them in elevated doses, without prescriptions or medical oversight.
The products were marketed as imported drugs from Malaysia, with the packaging being counterfeit.
The operation was led by investigators from the Main Investigative Department of the police, with active support from the Criminal Investigation Department and the Main Department of Internal Security of the SBU, under the supervision of the Office of the Prosecutor General.
During simultaneous authorized searches in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv regions, police seized over 20,000 packages of anabolic drugs, 3,000 ampoules of unknown substances, specialized equipment for production, packaging, and labeling, as well as more than 37 million hryvnias in various currencies.
Investigators have charged all five suspects with distributing knowingly falsified pharmaceuticals using information technologies, committed by an organized group.
This is the first time in Ukraine that charges have been brought for the falsification of steroids: police managed to prove that the substances contained in the products were classified as pharmaceuticals under Ukrainian law.
The suspects face up to 15 years in prison with asset forfeiture.
